Samosa

Method

1. mix4 min
   by hand, dry
   flour + salt + ajwain + soft ghee, rubbed between the palms until the flour clumps when squeezed and holds its shape — this fat coating (the moyan) is the whole crust. Too little and the shell puffs and blisters in the oil; too much and the cone cracks while you shape it
2. knead3 min
   stiff, cold water added a spoon at a time
   + cold water only until the crumbs come together. This dough should be noticeably firmer than a chapati dough and barely smooth — a soft, well-developed dough traps steam and bubbles, a stiff one dries into flat layers
3. rest30 min
   covered, room temperature
   dough under a damp cloth, so the flour hydrates evenly and the gluten relaxes enough to roll thin without springing back
4. saute4 min
   medium
   oil + cumin seeds + fennel until they sizzle and darken a shade, then + ginger + green chilis for thirty seconds — whole seeds bloomed in fat carry flavor that ground spice stirred in later cannot
5. mash4 min
   off heat
   + crushed potato + peas + coriander + garam masala + amchur + salt + cilantro, mixed coarse and left chunky. Spread it out and let it go completely cold and dry: a warm, wet filling releases steam inside the sealed pastry and blows the seam open in the oil
6. fold15 min
   rolled thin, ~6 in oval, halved
   divide dough into 3 balls, roll each into a thin oval, cut in half. Brush the straight edge with a flour-and-water paste, lap one corner over the other into a cone and press the overlap firmly — a seam sealed on dry dough peels apart while frying. Fill two-thirds full, press out the air, pinch the top edge shut in a straight ridge = 6 samosas
7. fry20 min
   low, oil at ~275°F, 3 at a time
   samosas slid into barely-warm oil and left alone. They will sink and sit; no bubbling frenzy. Holding this low temperature dries the shell slowly so it sets in flat sheets — this is the step that produces the blistered pale crust that shatters, and rushing it is what makes bubbles
8. fry5 min
   raised to ~350°F
   same samosas, heat raised at the end until they turn deep gold and float, then drained upright on a rack so the trapped steam escapes through the pastry rather than softening the bottom side